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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. race — humankind
  5. key — the most important part
  6. race — the arms race
  7. field — farmland
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. drill — a practice
  12. key — in music
  13. key — for a lock
  14. race — a contest
  15. craft — a skill
  16. drill — army training
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. field — for sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. craft — boats
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. drill — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com